Twisted Aftermath
by UrbanWitch
Summary: Taking place immediately following the mid season finale, this story explores what happens to Danny, Lacey, and Jo, as they deal with Danny being a fugitive, the fallout from the video, and their relationships.
1. Chapter 1

After Phoebe left, Lacey spent some time pondering over their conversation. Things had just gotten even weirder with Regina and her secret life. Apparently, Regina had been spending time with a woman whose car had Connecticut license plates, a woman who scratched Regina's arm hard enough to draw a stream of blood. And Regina was so desperate to hide this from her friends she made up a fake story about a fight with Phoebe to cover it up. It made Lacey feel terrible for the way they had all excised Phoebe from their group for daring to attack Regina. Poor Phoebe had always been on the fringes to begin with, and the fight story hadn't even been true.

Speaking of truth, Lacey was worried about Danny. He had left her probably believing she genuinely hated him. Lacey hadn't liked yelling those last two lines at him. "I wish you had never come back here. I wish I had never known you." But she had noted that Sarita, Jana and Phoebe didn't look too impressed with her speech up to that point. She knew she had to go further in order to convince them or the entire scheme would have been for naught.

Once she tricked Archie into spilling the beans on his plan to poison Cole, she had been an emotional wreck. Danny had helped her get her friends back but she had had to pretend to hate him at JohhnyCakes, even though it turned out that Danny had been telling the truth about being framed. And there she was sitting amongst the in-crowd again, slowly being re-integrated into the fold, and all she could think about was going to the school board, or to Chief Masterson, or just yelling into the crowd, that Archie and Scott had set Danny up. She felt like a fraud sharing Archie's onion rings and half listening to the inane chatter of the clique. Once Cole came back and accused Archie, she saw her opportunity and revealed the truth. She knew there might not be any more chances from the group after they had forgiven her one time already but she refused to not stand up for what was right once she had direct proof. Phoebe had thawed right away, so maybe Sarita would come around eventually too.

Lacey looked down at her phone but there was still no response to her text. She had written "Danny, please call me. We need to talk." She needed to tell him that she and Cole both knew he was innocent of the poisoning incident. She pulled on a black tank top and stripey pink pajama bottoms and climbed into bed. She'd talk to him in the morning she thought sleepily, and drifted off despite her mind whirling from the chaos of the last couple of hours.

At some point in the night, Lacy woke up to a hand covering her mouth and a body half on top of her's. Terrified, she tried to scream and move away but the arms holding her down were too strong. She heard a voice in her ear "Lacey its me; please don't scream". It was Danny. Lacey stared up at him wild-eyed as she made out his familiar features in the moonlit room. She saw her window was open, so he must have entered that way without her waking up. She nodded her head. Once he let go of her, she whispered fiercely "What the hell are you doing here like this?"

"Well" Danny said with a mild attempt at a grin "You texted me. And I wanted to make sure it wasn't a trap."

Lacey was perplexed. "What do you mean a trap? What would be a trap?"

"The police are searching for me, so I thought who knows they might have asked you to text me to get me to come here. But I didn't see anything suspicious around your house, so..." Danny broke off as he noticed Lacey was looking at him in puzzlement and slight alarm.

"The police are looking for you?" she squealed, sitting up and pushing her hair back from her face. "But why?"

Danny shook his head. "I can't tell you. You won't believe me and I'm sorry Lacey but I just can't take any more grief tonight. I just wanted to find out what your text was about because I didn't think you ever wanted to see me again after what you said at the diner. And I wanted to say goodbye."

Lacey noticed his face had a desperate cast to it, his eyes were filled with fear, and his body was shaking slightly. She had never seen him like this before. "Danny, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said." She placed her hand in his, and closed her fist around his fingers as she apologized for going off-script to sell their argument more completely to Serita and Phoebe. She proceeded to tell him how she had gotten the truth out of Archie and how she and Cole had let the entire group know who was really responsible for the poisoning incident. Danny's body started to relax somewhat and he breathed out a sigh. Lacey kept going, explaining how Phoebe had told her a Regina story involving a car with Connecticut license plates, which pointed to Danny not being the guilty party. "So I know now you were telling the truth. And I also know that there are people in this town who might be trying to set you up in more ways than one."

Danny held Lacey's hand tighter and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Thank you for standing up for me Lacey. I... you didn't have to do that. I really just wanted you to have your friends back."

"I know..." Lacey breathed. "And... I'm sorry I didn't believe you before." As she looked back at him, she was drawn into Danny's gaze. He glanced at her full lips as he leaned in towards her.

Lacey was hypnotized as she looked into Danny's beautiful eyes, magnetized by his soft, sensual lips. Her own lips parted slightly as she moved towards him. But then she shook her head, snapping herself out of it. "Danny, I... we ... can't do this. We have to be over. Jo..." She let go of his hand. Danny nodded his head, and looked away; he knew exactly what she meant.

"Now can you tell me why the police are looking for you?" asked Lacey, her mind reeling.

Danny gazed up at her again, and took a deep breath. "Lacey, they found a pipe in the lake and said it was the weapon that killed Regina." He paused for a moment to see if Lacey was ok with him continuing. Lacey nodded yes, her hands clenched into fists, afraid of where this was going. "They claim my fingerprints are on it along with Regina's blood."

Lacey gasped "Oh my god."

Danny stood up immediately. "Lacey, I have no idea how my fingerprints got on that pipe. I swear I didn't kill Regina." Lacey was looking at him without blinking. She looked confused and scared. "I need you to believe me" Danny continued. Lacey still didn't respond, so Danny started backing away, towards the open window. If Lacey didn't believe him he needed to get out of there.

Lacey reached out her arm and grabbed the tail of his shirt to prevent him from going any further. "Danny, stop" she said, swallowing hard. "Thanks for telling me the truth." Danny stood still, his shoulders tense. "Based on everything else that's happened, I think its very possible that someone is trying to frame you. " Danny practically collapsed with relief, as he lowered himself back down on the bed. If Lacey was on his side, he could face anything.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny had spent the night in Lacey's room, sleeping on one side of the bed. They were both very careful to avoid touching each other, careful to make this a platonic night of convenience solely so that Danny had a safe place to stay. Lacey had lent him a pair of her oversized sweatpants for makeshift pajamas and they had both spent a fitful night hyper-aware of each other's proximity. Just once Lacey awoke briefly to find her arms around Danny's arm, hugging it close, as if she needed a piece of him even if she couldn't have all of him. She let go, and turned away, not seeing that Danny's eyes were open, and as she turned, he moved his arm as close to her as he dared without actually touching her back.

Lacey's alarm woke them both and although they had each only gotten less than 4 hours of sleep, they were instantly up, falling over themselves to get out of the bed. Lacey sent Danny to shower while she went to the kitchen to steal some bagels and bananas for their breakfast. "I need to finish a homework assignment so I'll just eat in my room" she told Judy. Back in her bedroom, she locked the door just in case Clara took it upon herself to barge in as little sisters are fond of doing.

"Thanks for this" Danny said as he bit into a buttered raisin bagel. "Are you sure you want to go to school?" Danny was pretty sure what was in store for Lacey today - he had heard from Rico about her vandalized locker from the day before, and he had seen the hard stares and vicious laughter in the parking lot when he went to find her after school. He was well aware that she had been the target of all sorts of hate and derision. Now that she had stood up for him to Archie last night, it would likely get even worse. He wanted nothing more than to protect her from the world. But he couldn't go to school with her and Lacey was determined to face everything by herself anyway. She was really strong, or at least would never give anyone the satisfaction of thinking she wasn't. She was very different than Jo in how she handled things.

"Of course I'm going" Lacey shrugged at him. "I have to" she gritted her teeth. She too suspected what she was in for but she was a survivor. She would never allow herself to go back to the days when she was a scared little girl, afraid of the bullying, getting verbally and even physically abused, and coming home crying every day. She would never allow anyone to make her feel that way again. "Once my mom and Clara leave at 8:30, you can go downstairs, watch TV, make yourself lunch, get online, or whatever. I'll be back at 3, way before them, alright?"

Danny nodded as he chewed on another piece of bagel. "Good luck today Lace" he said gently. She was wearing a navy long sleeved hoodie over jeans with lace-up booties and her hair was up in a ponytail; she hadn't had time to do anything else to her hair or put on any make-up. She looked really young and vulnerable. Danny had to resist the urge to pull her into a hug, and force her to stay home, out of harm's way. "Bye Danny" Lacey whispered, as she closed her bedroom door behind her.

At her locker, Lacey sighed. It was even worse today. People had spray painted even more cruel words and phrases. Lacey felt tears well up in her eyes. "Socio lover" someone yelled out, but when she looked towards the source of the voice there were at least a dozen people who looked back, laughing and whispering. She blinked back the tears, and turned back to her locker, gathering books, not giving them the satisfaction of lowering her head, or breaking down in any way. She had just shut her locker when two girls shoved her hard as they walked past. "Eeeew" said one. "Now we have socio cooties." They were girls Lacey barely even knew, one was in her gym class.

She shook her head, and made her way to English Lit, where she found a folded up note on her desk. Without thinking, Lacey opened it only to gasp at the contents. It was a crudely drawn image of a girl with her lips around a giant penis belonging to a guy wearing a prison-striped top. Handcuffs linked their wrists together. The duo bore a vague resemblance to her and Danny. Lacey crumpled up the paper and made a point of walking to the trashcan and dropping it in. She mustered all her courage to look around the room and make eye contact with as many people as she could. She would not hide her head in shame - she had done nothing wrong. A few people smirked back at her but most looked away. Sarita and Jana were sitting in their usual spots heads bent over Sarita's notebook. Neither of them so much as glanced at her. Lacey sighed; it would take more time to get them back in her corner again.

While Lacey was dealing with the torment at school, Danny was busy back at the Porter house. The first thing he did once Lacey's mom and sister left the house, was make a phone call to the school. He deepened his voice when the secretary answered. "I need to speak with Principal Tang" he said. When Tang came on the phone, he stated "Tang, this is Officer Davis calling from City Hall. I'd like to know what you're doing to help charge the perpetrators of the sex tape."

"What sex tape?" asked principal Tang nervously. He probably thought it was his own Danny thought sardonically.

"Two of your students filmed two other students while they were engaged in intimate behavior" said Danny, his voice still deep and disguised. "Distribution of child pornography is technically a criminal activity."

"Who did that?" asked Tang, clearly disturbed.

"Doug Fisher and Eloise Hansen" Danny replied, having gotten their names from Rico. "I expect that you will bring them down to the station to be prosecuted immediately. I'm sure you don't want this to be a reflection of lax discipline standards at your school."

"Oh, of course, Officer, I'll escort them there personally on my lunch break" Tang replied obsequiously.

"Very good" said Danny, hanging up. He had found out from the internet police channel that Officer Davis was out on an all-day assignment today, so when Doug and Eloise got brought in, no one would be able to check if he had or hadn't called Tang. And at that point, they would just go ahead and book the two culprits. Danny was still seething from their cavalier release of that video that hurt Lacey and Jo so much.

Next he created an email account using untraceable codes and sent an anonymous letter to the school board members stating that Archie Yates and Scott Hodgkins had admitted to poisoning Cole Farrell at the soccer team celebration the night before. He figured it would at least get then questioned again even if they denied it. He also sent an email to the entire soccer team form the anonymous account with a note about how Archie and Scott had poisoned Cole, and tried to frame Danny. He knew most might be skeptical but a few, especially those that had been within earshot of Cole and Lacey the night before, would wonder about it and that was enough to cast doubt.

After he made himself a ham and cheese sandwich, he went back to Lacey's room and shut the door. He spent a little bit of time looking at her bookshelf - it was crammed with volumes of classic literature and poetry. She had an article tacked to her bulletin board entitled "Volunteer in South America" and another about action steps for saving the rain forests. He liked getting this window into Lacey's world because she was generally so reserved in talking about herself. He saw a journal on her nightstand but left it alone despite the temptation to read about her deepest thoughts - he intended to never break Lacey's trust again.


	3. Chapter 3

Lacey could feel a headache coming on from all the tension of the day. She had two class periods to get through, but then she could go home and bring a tub of Chunky Monkey ice-cream to her room and watch re-runs of Gilmore Girls and just zone out for a bit. Then she remembered that Danny would be there and felt a twinge of resentment. He was the one who had kind of gotten her in this predicament, and he was at her house now, so she wouldn't be able to just veg out on her own. Nope, after a super stressful and horrible day, she had to help him come up with a plan to find a murderer. Thats all, easy. She closed her eyes for a moment and immediately told herself to get over it; they were a team now and she was determined to help him.

As she walked into the gym locker room, she noticed printouts taped to each locker, stills from the video, of her kissing Danny in her bra. The word "slut" was scrawled under all of them. She eyed the girls that were already in there; some appeared highly amused at how far popular girl Queen Lacey Porter had fallen. Lacey shook her head, bit her lip, and methodically walked down the line of lockers, tearing each sheet of paper off as she went, ignoring the whispering. Another girl, Millicent Wilder, who was one of the high school newspaper editors, started doing the same thing along the other wall of lockers, helping her out. Lacey mouthed "thank you" as they finished up and Millie smiled back at her as she followed the crowd out to the gym floor. But Lacey had had enough. She left the locker room and made her way directly to the principal's office.

"Hi Mr, Tang, I need to tell you something" she began once she was admitted to the office.

"Sure, what is it Lacey?" Tang asked, admiring Lacey's silky dark brown hair. He stifled the urge to reach out and stroke it.

"At the soccer team party last night" began Lacey nervously. "Archie Yates admitted to me that he and Scott Hodgins were the ones who poisoned Cole Farrell and made it look like Danny did it."

Tang frowned "Thats a rather serious accusation. Do you have any proof?"

"Well, no" said Lacey. "But Archie told me himself. And if there's another suspect besides Danny, shouldn't it be investigated?"

Tang pondered her words for a moment. Archie was a very popular student and captain of the soccer team; this was not good news. The he remembered "Don't you date Archie Yates Miss Porter? Why would you come here with this sort of accusation?"

Lacey felt a little trapped. If she told him they had broken up, Tang would think it was some kind of revenge plot. "Mr. Tang, Archie is... was... my friend... but after hearing that he is responsible for hurting one student and framing another, I had to do whats right."

Tang looked at the serious faced girl in front of him. Lacey was one of his best students, student council vice president, a shoe-in for prom queen, everyone liked her. It would be safe to take her word. He had no idea yet that she was one of the two individuals featured on the sex tape. "Ok, Lacey, I'll talk to the school board about this. Are you willing to testify at a hearing?"

"Yes of course I will" Lacey practically shouted. "And I'm sure Cole will to" she added.

After she left the office, Lacey still had a good 15 minutes before her last class of the day, so decided to spend that time getting some fresh air in the little alcove outside the school library. When she rounded the corner outside, she stopped short because in front of her were Scott and Eric from the soccer team, smoking. Lacey turned around, prepared to march away when she felt her arm being grabbed and pulled backwards. She stumbled and fell back into Scott's arms. "Well, well, if it isn't the sexy Lacey Porter" he smirked at her. "In my arms ready and willing."

"Scott, let go of me" Lacey snapped, trying to extract herself from his grip. Scott just held on tighter, and pulled her head by her ponytail so she was forced to face him, while Eric laughed unpleasantly, standing in front of them, blocking the exit.

"You were happy to bed down with the socio, well I'm a step up baby" said Scott with a nasty inflection in his voice. Lacey had always considered Scott pretty harmless, but she suddenly felt afraid. She realized belatedly that Archie had always protected her from anything unsavory - being his girl had its advantages, as no one dared cross him. Now she was no longer off limits and she had exposed Scott as the co-culprit in the poisoning incident - he was angry.

"Scott, come on, don't be ridiculous" said Lacey with as much confidence as she could muster. She added the first thing she could think of "Danny and I didn't even sleep together, we just -"

She was cut off by Scott's mouth bearing down on her's, in an unwanted kiss, while he tried to get his hand under her hoodie and t-shirt, making contact with the bare skin of her belly. She tried to yell and kick at Scott, as he pushed his tongue inside her mouth, but he was too forceful and held her in a firm grip. She finally managed to use the side of her foot to nail him in the shin. "Ow, you bitch" yelled Scott, as he pushed her onto the ground. He fell on top of her, attacking her mouth again, pinning down both her arms above her head, and lying across her legs. She was ensnared beneath him. She used the only weapon at her disposal - her teeth - she bit Scott's lip hard enough to draw blood. He yelped, which gave her a chance to free one of her arms and hit him across the face. She quickly wriggled out from under him and stood up shakily, her chest heaving. "You're not going anywhere you little socio-bitch" Scott growled as he tried to grab her leg from his half prone position but she skipped out of the way, heading straight towards the school door. She glared at Eric as she went by him but he didn't try to stop her.

By the time Lacey made it inside, she was shaking. She debated reporting this to Mr. Tang, but it just felt pointless, and she had an uneasy feeling it might hurt Danny's case if she came across as a high maintenance student making a second complaint in one day. Instead, she went straight to the restroom and spent a few minutes dry heaving at the sink. She felt physically ill from Scott's attack. She splashed water on her face and made the decision to go home. Lacey had never skipped a class before in her life, and here she was skipping two of them on one day. "Welcome to my new life as a town pariah/juvenile delinquent" she thought to herself as she slipped behind the wheel of her car and started the engine. Could it possibly get any worse?


	4. Chapter 4

While waiting for the light to change at the corner of Edelweiss and Franklin Streets, Lacey heard her phone buzz; it was Jo returning her text. Lacey had sent her a message earlier in the day requesting that she meet her at the fort and Jo was just now saying she was on her way there since her last class was a free period. After the day Lacey had been through, she was not sure she was ready for any type of showdown with Jo, but she knew how important Jo was to Danny and he needed all the friends he could get right now. Lacey felt responsible for their friendship breaking up as she was the one who had insisted on not telling Jo anything about her and Danny dating, so she was anxious to help Jo and Danny make amends; that meant she had to do so as well.

She parked in the wooded lot and walked through the trees towards the secret fort. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves, adding some warmth to the chill autumn day. The air hinted at a crisp coolness as her booties crunched over leaves strewn on the forest floor. October was Lacey's favorite month and she wished she could just enjoy it without any cares. She heard footsteps behind her and tensed up. With the video out, she had begun to realize she was a target in a way, as people thought she was fair game for attacking. She turned around quickly, then expelled a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Jo.

"Hi Lacey" said Jo, the coolness in her voice unmistakable. "Why did you text me? What do you want?"

"Jo, thanks for meeting me" said Lacey as she entered the fort ahead of her. "I wanted to apologize again for not telling you that Danny and I were dating."

"How long were you two... uh... involved?" asked Jo, getting right to the point. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a classic defensive pose. "And why didn't you guys just tell me after Danny's board hearing?"

Lacey tucked a strand of hair that had loosened from her ponytail behind her ear. "Look, Jo, please do not blame Danny for this. He wanted to tell you, but I was the one who asked him not to." She saw Jo's eyes narrow and her countenance harden. "Please give me a chance to explain. We had only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks, and I wasn't ready to tell anybody anything. I had no idea where things was going with Danny, and I needed time to figure it out for myself first. You and I... we weren't that close yet, and I hadn't even said anything to Sarita and Phoebe or my mom... by the time you let me know you had feelings for Danny, we were already over and that was the same day you were already hurting from the school board confession and I couldn't bear to hurt you more. I thought we could tell you another time but the video came out later that afternoon and so we didn't even get the chance." Lacey had spilled everything she wanted to say in a rush, trying to get it all out before Jo could interrupt.

Jo looked down at her feet, her face shrouded by her blond curls, making it difficult to tell what effect Lacey's explanation had on her. "Lacey" she began slowly. "Friends don't keep secrets from each other. I have told you everything. I told you about your dad as soon as I found out. You should have told me."

Lacey felt really bad that Jo's feelings were hurt but she had had no idea Jo had any attraction to Danny and really it had been none of Jo's business initially. She decided she had apologized enough and tried to keep her exasperation out of her voice as she responded "Jo, I appreciate that you believe in complete transparency, I really do, but I'm a more private person. Being friends doesn't mean you have to tell every single thing to the other person the second it happens, right? Besides, to be honest, I didn't trust that you'd be able to keep my secret if I told you."

Jo looked up, startled "What do you mean by that Lacey?"

Lacey bit her lip. "Jo, you know you've never been good at keeping things to yourself. When we were little, you were always the one that couldn't hold back from our parents when we would sneak out to the lake to watch the stars at night. You told my mom about the time I got into a fight with Jacinta Donaldson because she pulled your hair, and that got me into trouble". Lacey wasn't sure how much to bring up but continued " Just recently, you outed my dad, and while I appreciated knowing, it wasn't a very cool way to go about it. He was really upset he didn't get to tell my family in his own way. You told me about the missing necklace before Danny was ready to. And you told Danny about the apartment in Connecticut before I was ready to. You even told your own secret, that you were falling for Danny, in front of the entire school board. So forgive me if, based on that track record, I was reluctant to let you know about me and Danny when it was all so new and unstable to begin with." Lacey sat down on the log chair, drew her knees up under her chin, and eyed Jo warily.

"Wow, Lacey, I didn't realize you couldn't trust me, I mean I'm the only one who hasn't lied about anything" said Jo, her voice laced with pain and sarcasm. She sat on the on the truck tire they used as seating. She shook her head to clear it and her face took on a calmer, more thoughtful appearance. "I guess maybe I have to work on that. I didn't realize that sharing everything so openly could make me seem not so trustworthy. Maybe you have a point."

"And I need to work on being more open, I know that" responded Lacey. "Jo, I am so used to keeping my feelings guarded, that sometimes I'm not even sure what they actually are myself."

Jo picked up a glass jar of stones off the floor and began turning it in her hand, watching the stones tumble against each other inside. The three of them had collected interesting stones and pebbles over the course of a year when they were ten, finding them in the woods, on trips, in their own backyards, and added them to the mason jar. No one could remember why they started, but they only stopped once the jar was full. "So" she began "do you know where Danny is now?" She looked up at Lacey. "Because my dad told me there's a warrant out for his arrest."

"I know" Lacey whispered, unsure of how much to tell Jo, because what if she went right to Chief Masterson. "I... I've been in touch with him."

"Where is he?" asked Jo.

"He needs our help Jo" Lacey avoided answering directly. "You and I both know he couldn't have murdered Regina. Someone is trying to frame him. He's in a lot of trouble."

"Thats interesting that you believe that Lacey " Jo said, her voice heavy with her trademark sarcasm.

"Jo, it would mean a lot to him if you would help as well" Lacey appealed. "He's devastated because he thinks you no longer want to be in his life."

Jo held her breath "What did he tell you? About how we left things?"

"He told me that you didn't seem to want to be friends anymore because we hadn't told you about our relationship."

"Thats it?" asked Jo intently. "He didn't say anything else?"

"No, why? What else is there?"

"Well, its also really hard to be around him when I still have feelings for him... and its hard to be around you too Lacey" Jo answered. Raising her voice, she added "Its like you always get everything. You were the one who was able to move on and find a new circle of cool friends and become popular. You're the one who got elected to student council and is the editor of the yearbook and got the hot jock boyfriend. You're the one who can handle any social situation and everyone in the school thinks you're so beautiful. And, I was fine with all of that, how you had moved on without me, and had this whole new amazing life, because I thought I had… Danny. But you took him too Lacey. He chose you." Jo was clenching the glass jar in her hand and she started to get teary.

"Jo, I'm so sorry, you're feeling so terrible. I didn't mean to hurt you and neither did Danny. It just happened, we didn't consciously plan it. And we're over now. Completely." Lacey wished she could just tear up and cry as well - the entire day had been hell and this was such a difficult conversation - but she knew she had to be the strong one; someone had to be.

"Promise its really over? That you're over him? That you won't date him again?" asked Jo as tears slid down her cheeks. "I need you to tell me for sure."

"Its over Jo" Lacey said softy, as her mind rapidly constructed another mental wall around her emotions concerning Danny. "We can all be friends and try and get back to how things were when we were eleven. Ok?"

"Ok" said Jo, and kneeled closer to Lacey to give her a hug.


	5. Chapter 5

As Lacey walked into her house, she heard her phone ring. Pulling it out of her bag, she saw it was Judy. "Hi mom" she said, answering it, while she shut the front door and wandered into the kitchen.

"Lacey, I am dropping Clara off at Amanda's after gymnastics for the night and then heading back to the office to catch up on paperwork" said Judy without preamble. "I might just sleep here if it gets late. There's leftover eggplant casserole in the fridge."

Lacey held the phone tightly. Her mom spent entirely too much time at work and it didn't help that she had a pull out sofa right in her office. Lacey really had hoped to be able to talk to her mom tonight. She had wanted to tell her about the video before she heard about it through the grapevine and she could have used some mom-comfort. But she simply said "Thats fine mom, no problem, don't work too hard" and hung up. She knew that her mom's career was really important to her and she was having such a hard time dealing with finding out her ex-husband was gay, Lacey didn't really want to add to her worries.

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of iced green tea and looked in the snack drawer for a granola bar. She poured herself a glass of tea and took it to the living room. She knew Danny was upstairs probably and she should check on him but she needed just a few moments alone to collect herself. The curtains had never been opened that day and the room was dark. Lacey sat lotus style on the cream rug next to the coffee table, her snack in front of her untouched. She realized she wasn't actually hungry, just really exhausted. She didn't even realize she was crying until she heard Danny's voice say "Hey, Lacey... why are you sitting here alone in the dark?"

Lacey quickly drew her fists across her eyes, wiping away evidence of tears, but it was too late. Danny was momentarily stunned, but he quickly strode across the room to kneel down next to her. "Lace, whats wrong? What happened?" He felt anger building inside himself towards whatever nameless foe had caused Lacey hurt.

"No-nothing. I'm fine" Lacey replied, shaking her head, her ponytail swinging. She pulled the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands, a nervous habit she thought she had given up years ago.

"Its obvious you're not fine" countered Danny, taking one sleeve-covered hand and clasping it between both of his. "Tell me whats wrong Lacey."

"Really, I'm fine. I just had a momentary lapse of emotion" her voice broke slightly, but she smiled tentatively, trying to dislodge said emotion from her face.

Danny stared at Lacey for a minute, unnerving her a little until she finally averted her eyes. Then he spoke "Lace, don't think I don't know you've been going through a really rough time. Starting with Aunt Tara's um… death 5 years ago and ending with the video this week and everything that came with that. You know, Jo told me about finding out your dad is gay. You broke up with Archie and you… broke up with me, so that's two break-ups in less than a month. And you lost all your friends twice in one week. You're also still grieving Regina's death. And who knows what else I don't even know about." He waited until Lacey looked up at him again through fringed lashes before adding "Clearly I know you're not fine."

Lacey was unable to say anything. She hadn't realized that Danny was keeping track of all the issues she had been trying to manage. "Lace, you can talk to me. I hope you know that I'm here for you." His voice was soft and laced with worry.

Lacey pulled her hand out of Danny's grasp. She started to protest, to turn the corners of her lips into a grin, to shrug off any semblance of sadness, but she couldn't bear the kindness in his voice. If he had just accepted that she was ok, just believed her and let her be, and not rattled off all the ways in which he knew she was hurting, Lacey could have swallowed her emotions, pushed them behind her well-built walls, and masked all of it. She was quite good at it actually. But the concern in Danny's voice, his eyes searching her's for a hint of expression, his body leaning towards her in empathy... she couldn't take it and before she knew it tears were falling freely and she had covered her face with her hands, trying to not let Danny see her in a moment of weakness, like a small child who thinks if she can't see someone, they can't see her either.

Danny quickly gathered Lacey into his arms, cradling her body as she crumpled against him sobbing. He held her while she wept for all the appalling things she had endured today and all week, and for the number of times her heart had been shattered over the last 5 years, and all the ways in which she had swallowed her pain so that it lived viscerally within her like a beast that she had to keep hidden lest anyone found out that Lacey Porter wasn't proper and perfect and unbreakable after all. She held onto Danny like a lifeline, clutching his shoulders, shaking, and allowing herself the catharsis a good cry can engender, something she hadn't permitted herself to indulge in for years. Not since Danny left for juvie.

Danny held her securely, first letting her simply cry, then whispering calming words, stroking her hair, and just trying to be an unconditionally supportive friend. His own heart hurt to see Lacey in this state. He wanted to rail against someone, hurt anyone, find a target that needed to pay for Lacey's suffering. Ten minutes later, Lacey's uncontrollable weeping started to cease, she stopped shudering, and her breathing became calmer. "Tell me what happened today" murmured Danny against Lacey's ear, suspecting there must have been a breaking point incident.

Lacey gulped away the last of her sobs as Danny released her so she could sit back against the sofa. She started to relate some of her experiences in a monotone - about her locker, and the harassment from random strangers and the awful pictures. She got a little more animated revealing how she told the principal about Archie and Scott being the real culprits behind Cole's poisoning. "Danny, Mr. Tang said they would have another board hearing" she said with a weak smile. "If Cole and I testify, you should be cleared and can come back to school -" her smile fell and she broke off as she realized that expulsion was the least of his problems now.

"Its ok, you did great" Danny said, rubbing her arm. "Now I'll be able to come back to school once my name is cleared for murder, right?" he said with a half-grin. Danny didn't tell her what he had already done to help clear his own name. He was touched that Lacey had taken time out of her horrendous day to help him and he didn't want to take away from her whatever victory it might result in.

Finally, Lacey told hesitantly him about Scott's attack. She felt simultaneously outraged and embarrassed at the incident, which resulted in her trying to make light of it. As she talked and fidgeted with the cuffs of her sweatshirt, she became teary again, and so didn't notice Danny's body grow rigid or his eyes darken as he took in her words. He finally had a target to focus on: Scott Hodgins.


	6. Chapter 6

When the doorbell rang, Danny jumped to answer it, knowing it'd be Jo. Lacey had gone upstairs after explaining that she and Jo had come up with a plan, which was to drive out to Connecticut and sleuth out some clues related to Regina or any dirt on that apartment which once belonged to Vikram. Danny wasn't sure if they'd find anything useful but he was all for getting out of town as soon as possible.

"Hey, Jo" he grinned at the blonde girl upon opening the front door. Blocking the entrance, he added "Secret password?"

Jo, who had been about to walk through, looked surprised, but then recognition dawned on her face as she realized Danny was referring to an old game they used to play when they were little. She racked her brain trying to remember the last password they had made up - it changed periodically, for faux security purposes.

"Um, circus?" she asked hesitantly; the name of Britney Spear's album was the last password she recalled.

"Enter and be well" Danny answered in his best Darth Vader impersonation with their standard response to the correct password. Jo felt a momentary thrill at the reproduction of this old routine that was just one of many signifiers of their special bond. This was the best of the Trio with a capital T. "I'm glad you're joining us Jo" Danny said as he waved her in, giving her a warm smile.

"Sure, Danny... I don't want to see you go to jail." said Jo with a shrug as she pushed past him into the Porter household. But just what did he mean "joining us"? Was there still an "us" for him and Lacey? Jo had to admit to herself that one of the reasons why she was determined to go on the road trip was to keep an eye on them; she didn't need them spending all that time alone together. "Where's Lacey?" she asked peering around.

"She's packing up a few things" said Danny, with a glance towards the staircase. "How are you doing?"

Jo shrugged her shoulders again. "How do you think I'm doing Danny?" She was still really tremendously upset at Danny for choosing Lacey over her and then not even telling her about it; it was a betrayal. But her hurt was tempered by her realization that she had probably hurt Rico just as much as Danny had hurt her. On the other hand her pain was exponentially increased by her own action of sleeping with Tyler when she knew she didn't love him nor he her. It had been an act of retaliation, and now it just left her feeling hollow.

"Jo" Danny began, shaking his head. "Again, I'm really sorry for hurting you. That's the last thing I'd ever…"

"Just save it Danny" Jo interrupted. "If you had just… if you could… if you hadn't…. I wouldn't have…" she stopped herself and looked away.

"You wouldn't have what?" asked Danny gently, running his hand over his topknot.

"Never mind" Jo dismissed him with a shake of her head.

"No, tell me Jo" pleaded Danny. "What happened?"

Jo was silent for a moment, then looked Danny directly in the eye and stated "I slept with Tyler, Danny. Satisfied?"

"What? You slept with Tyler?" Danny was incredulous. "When? W-why?" he stammered.

"Do you really have to ask why Danny?" asked Jo pointedly. She wanted him to feel remorse for pushing her into Tyler's arms, and from Danny's slightly horrified expression, she could tell she had hit home.

"Hey guys I'm ready" Lacey called out as she bounded down the steps two at a time. Danny smiled inwardly to see her reprise her childhood habit of pretending she was Tigger bouncing down the staircase. She had grown up to be this stunning, graceful teenager with all the fashion sense of a Vogue model, but her inner tomboy from childhood had not completely disappeared. "Hi Jo!" Lacey smiled at the shorter girl, coming to a stop in front of her. She glanced from her to Danny and back at Jo. The pair seemed to have been in the middle of an intense conversation. "Did you bring everything?" she asked Jo, pasting her habitual bright smile on her face.

Minutes later, the three had piled into Lacey's car and were on their way. Both Lacey and Jo had told their families that they were spending the weekend with Phoebe, who was going to cover for them if any adult took it upon themselves to call her house. Phoebe, budding actress that she was, could mimic her own mom with ease over the phone. The girls had also brought several hundred dollars between them, snacks and some clothing. They figured they could get Danny a change of clothes too once they were in Connecticut.

Danny opened up a bag of sweet cheddar potato chips and pulled out a handful before passing the bag towards Jo in the backseat. He then poured a half dozen gummy bears from a movie-theater-sized box into his palm to give to Lacey who had both hands on the steering wheel. He resisted the impetus to feed her the candy by placing it in her mouth one at a time, something he had done once when the two of them were eating dinner a couple of weeks ago. Instead, he placed them in her hand and felt a slight jolt of electricity at her touch. He let his fingers brush against hers a moment longer to see if it had any effect on her too; he saw her breath hitch as she jerked her hand away. Danny closed his eyes for a moment. It was so hard to be sitting next to her yet not be able to touch her. He opened his eyes and looked towards Jo in the back seat. "You two are going to have to teach me to drive one of these days. I can't keep relying on Lacey for rides."

"Well, if we can't clear your name" Jo teased, "not having a license will be the least of your worries. You'll need skills other than driving in prison, like 'Bribery Basics' and 'How to Avoid Becoming a Punk'!"

They all laughed at Jo's attempt at a joke, a little too loudly, trying to diffuse the tension permeating the car from Danny's arrest warrant and the trio's current permutations of shaky relationships.

They stopped at a thrift store in Runyon, just a couple of towns away from their final destination. It was essentially a huge warehouse with rows and rows of clothing racks. They all split up to quickly seek out some inexpensive items for Danny to wear over the weekend. Danny rifled through what felt like 1000's of t-shirts and pulled out a brick orange Henley that appeared to be in brand new condition. He looked up to share his find with the girls and spotted Jo by herself browsing for jeans, so made his way over to her. "So" he began upon reaching her. "I got a shirt in my size. But best of all they sell packages of brand new socks and underwear right by the register."

Jo turned around with a grin "Not having to buy used underwear - that's a plus." She held up two pairs of jeans. "Do you want to try these on?"

Danny was glad to see Jo was acting her old self around him again. She had been pretty quiet in the car, but then again all of them were more subdued than usual given the Herculean task of proving Danny's innocence ahead of them. Danny decided to broach the subject of Tyler from their unfinished conversation earlier. "Jo, I didn't know you and Tyler were… a thing?"

"We're not" Jo snapped. "Or rather we were just a one-time thing."

"I see" said Danny, understanding dawning on him. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

Jo shook her head no, lowering her eyes. "I'm just dandy" she muttered and looked back up at him. "I really don't want to talk about it with you Danny."

From a distance, Lacey peered over the rows of racks, trying to find her friends. She had discovered a vintage Beatles t-shirt that she knew Danny would absolutely adore. She located the duo near a wall of shoes deep in conversation. She started walking towards them, but something halted her. The way Danny was gazing at Jo, holding her hand, the way Jo was leaning towards Danny, looking into his eyes… Lacey was bewildered. Was Danny interested in Jo now? Had he begun to like her back?


	7. Chapter 7

Sneaking into Vikram's apartment was much easier this time around. They already knew to get into the building through the side door by the dumpsters and take the back stairs up to the 4th floor. The apartment door was locked and they worried the place may have been rented already, but Danny, who had been privy to some lock-picking lessons from a buddy in juvie, managed to get the door open and they found it to be still unoccupied. "This was a stupid idea" grumbled Jo as she followed Danny inside "Its been empty for months. We're never going to find anything."

"No stone unturned, right Jo?" asked Danny with a grin as he shut the door behind them.

"Its not as if we have anywhere else to start" added Lacey, placing her hand on her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on. She had hoped that Jo was going to be more easy going on this trip than the last time they went to Connecticut, but she had started getting snarky towards the end of the car ride. Lacey was trying to be patient because she knew Jo was still nursing hurt feelings but she was on the verge of snapping back if Jo uttered one more negative or sarcastic comment.

"Once again" Jo repeated with annoyance "I still think we should have given my dad Phoebe's information. He'd know what to do with it. I thought we'd learned our lesson after the cash and note incident."

Lacey sighed. "I thought you agreed at the fort that Phoebe's memory of a car with CT license plates is just not enough to be real evidence, didn't you?" She walked over to one of the few pieces of furniture in the room, a grey tweed sofa, and sat down holding her head. The rough day (week? month?) she'd been having plus breaking down crying and then driving 2 hours in a tension-filled car had taken a toll. Her head was officially pounding.

Danny pulled Jo by her arm into one of the bedrooms calling "You rest Lace. We'll start looking around."

"Jo" Danny began as soon as he had her alone. "You need to cut Lacey a break. Do you have any idea how much she's been dealing with?"

"Do you have any idea how much I've been dealing with?" Jo hissed back.

Danny ran his hand over his head, trying to find the right words. "Look, Jo, we both apologized for not telling you about us right away. But after seeing what Lacey's been subjected to with her locker and the bullying, you do see why she was so ultra cautious about the secret getting out don't you?"

Jo nodded her head sheepishly. Even she and Rico, in their little nerd world, had heard gossip about Lacey's slut-shaming. Jo's dad had told her that Eloise and Doug had been brought over to the police station and their parents were called in for consequences. They would be expelled and have to pay fines to the school to cover all clean-up and any student counseling associated with the sex tape.

"I care about you so much Jo and would never hurt you on purpose. You know that too, right?"

Jo still didn't say anything.

"And if you want me to take care of Tyler, just say the word, ok? I'd be happy to defend your honor."

Jo allowed a small smile.

"Have you told Lacey?" Danny asked. "About Tyler?"

"No" Jo said. "She didn't want to tell me about you. I don't have to tell her about Tyler." Jo bit her lip realizing how petty that probably sounded. But it was how she felt.

Danny nodded as if he understood. He knew he was the last one to lecture anyone on not being forthcoming. And he knew he was still on thin ice with Jo until she got over her crush on him. "Ok, but why tell me then? And leave only Lacey out?"

Lacey could hear Jo and Danny speaking in undertones in the bedroom. The Advils she had swallowed were starting to dampen her headache, so she got up to see what they were doing but stopped short before walking into the room. She could see through the half closed door that they weren't even pretending to be searching for clues. They were standing close to one another having an animated dialogue. Their body language indicated an intimacy that suggested they were very close… perhaps more so than a simple friendship. Lacey caught the tail end of something Danny was saying "…leave Lacey out."

Lacey started backing away as realization waved over her. _Leave Lacey out_. Was she, Lacey, only on this trip to provide a ride? To help look for clues? _Leave Lacey out_. Was Jo's crush not one sided after all? Is this why Danny had been so keen to tell Jo there was nothing between them anymore? _Leave Lacey out_. Danny and Jo wanted to… _leave Lacey out_. Danny and Jo… she couldn't finish her own thought as it hit her viscerally, like what she imagined an actual punch to the gut would feel like. She stumbled towards the desk in the hallway and collapsed onto the chair, willing her eyes not to tear up.

She and Danny were over. Lacey was the one that had broken up with him, which meant he was certainly free to be with anyone he wanted. Including Jo. Jo, who had been pretty much unwaveringly loyal to Danny from Day one. Jo, who had always been so much nicer to Danny than Lacey initially, who was so much quicker to forgive than Lacey, who never had any qualms about being seen in public with Danny. Jo who had already declared that she loved Danny. Why wouldn't Danny be falling for Jo? It made sense. She and Danny were no longer together. So why was Lacey suddenly trembling and nauseous? Why did she feel like her heart was fracturing all over again?

In the bedroom, Danny and Jo had started exploring the bare room. It had been stripped of furniture so there wasn't really any sort of hiding place, but they checked all corners of the closet and ran their hands over the closet shelf. They peered under the window sill and pulled up the carpet. They went through the entire master bathroom but nothing had been left behind anywhere except a half empty bottle of shampoo sitting on the far edge of the bathtub.

Lacey, meanwhile, had steeled her resolve and begun opening the desk drawers. She didn't really expect to find anything but she needed to keep her mind on nothing but searching for clues. She was here to find something to help clear Danny's name. That was all. She was Nancy Drew. She was Encyclopedia Brown. She was part of the Scooby Doo gang. When they were kids, all three of them used to enjoy solving mysteries ahead of the detective characters in books and on TV shows. Many a time the three of them had figured out a case well before the answers were revealed. Danny was particularly good at synthesizing the evidence to determine a pattern or perpetrator, but she and Jo could hold their own too. Maybe it wasn't so farfetched that they might be able to solve this thing themselves.

She had opened up every drawer of the heavy walnut desk but they were all empty. So, in the spirit of "leaving no stone unturned", which they had agreed was to be their motto for the trip, she started pulling the drawers all the way out of and placing them on the floor. Maybe something had slipped behind them. Lacey got down on her hands and knees and peered at the floor under the desk. She spotted a torn sheet of paper towards the back and reached as far as she could until she was able to grasp it with the tips of her fingers. It was grimy with cobwebs and dust bunnies so she shook it out. It had a letterhead that said "Marna Inc." But the rest of it was disappointingly blank.

She looked under the desk again and to her surprise saw the glint of a piece of jewelry all the way in the corner. It had probably fallen behind the desk at one point and hadn't been visible to anyone looking from above or behind the piece of furniture. She reached her arm in again and pulled it out, only to gasp and drop it immediately. It was Regina's necklace.


	8. Chapter 8

The trio sat on the sofa staring at two objects on the glass coffee table before them: a gold necklace with red stones and a torn sheet of paper with "Marna Inc" written on it. Though they had scoured the rest of the entire apartment, these two clues found by Lacey early in their search were still the only ones they had discovered. The necklace puzzled them immensely. There was no way it could be the same one Regina was wearing as that was definitely locked up at Green Grove police headquarters. That meant it was a duplicate. "How can there be a second necklace?" Jo asked from her spot in the middle, tilting her head in perplexity. She took a bite from her PB&J. They had packed sandwiches for dinner to save money but peanut butter and strawberry jelly on white bread was not a very satisfying evening meal.

"Danny, I thought you said your aunt's necklace was a family heirloom?" queried Lacey. "So, how can there be another identical one?" she echoed Jo's question.

Danny shook his head morosely. "I have no idea. But the fact that it was here in this apartment is not a coincidence." He was getting the feeling his dad or his aunt had not been quite truthful with him about the necklace.

"Is it possible" began Lacey "that this is actually a third necklace? Maybe Tara and Regina each had one."

"Then it would make sense why you found a necklace in your locker Danny!" exclaimed Jo. "Maybe it wasn't Regina's at all. It was just another copy!"

The two girls watched Danny expectantly. Danny got up from his side of the sofa and walked over to the kitchenette. He was still trying to get his head around this new information. He opened up a bottle of water and took several gulps to help wash down the last of his sandwich. "Maybe" he said. "I mean its not some supernatural amulet that simply appears in different locations, right?"

Jo snickered and got up to use the bathroom. Danny returned to the sofa and sat down right next to Lacey this time. They hadn't had a chance to be alone all evening and he was anxious to see how she was really holding up after her trying day. He was very close to her and as his leg leaned against her's Danny felt Lacey's body tense up. "Tell me how you're feeling Lace" Danny whispered, holding her gaze.

"I'm fine" Lacey mumbled. She cleared her throat and looked away. Danny was aware of the effect he was having on her and he liked that she still responded to him. But then she suddenly stood up, practically knocking the bottle of water out of his hand. "I'm fine" she repeated. "I'm sorry I kinda fell apart this afternoon but I'm fine now". She took a deep breath and expelled it. "Lets just focus on the case, ok?" She walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some water of her own, uncapped it and guzzled down half the bottle.

'Well, well Lacey Porter, do I still unnerve you?' wondered Danny to himself as he stroked his chin. Out loud he asked "Any suggestions?"

"We should see if there are any impressions left on that piece of stationery, you know, see if whatever paper was on top of it had been written on" said Lacey.

"Brilliant" Danny smiled, remembering this as a favorite trick of a number of their childhood detective stories. "Got a pencil?"

"I do" said Jo, fishing one out of her pocket as she exited the bathroom. "Its from mini golf" she said, handing the 4 inch stub to Danny. "What for?"

"Watch and behold" Danny said theatrically as he placed the flat edge of the pencil lead against the scrap of stationery and started lightly moving it back and forth. As the paper turned grey from the pencil rubbing, ghost etchings of words began showing up. The impressions they could make out read:

"Marilyn R -"

" stray from the pa-"

"-ification through puri- "

"policy of " or "prophecy of"

They spent a good 30 minutes trying to make sense of it. Obviously it was being written to a Marilyn R, as that name was at the top of the note. They wondered if it was _stray from the park_ or _path_ or _parents_. "Maybe its _pa_ - _stray from the pa"_ chuckled Jo. "Like it's a Little House on the Prairie note!"

Lacey laughed as well. She and Jo had speed-read through the entire series of Little House books when they were twelve. "Yeah, don't stray from the pa" she chuckled.

Danny, not being familiar with Ma and Pa Ingalls, looked on in bemusement. "I think _path_ makes the most sense… especially if its '_Don't_ stray from the path'."

"What about 'itification through puri '?" Jo said moving onto the next puzzling phrase.

"Identification?" suggested Danny. "Reitfication?"

"The third word has to be 'purity' or 'purification'" added Lacey.

"Maybe its Puritan?" Jo snickered. "Or Purim."

"Or Purina!" Lacey shot back.

"Meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow" Jo and Lacey sang together mimicking the cat food commercial, then burst into a fit of giggles at the end.

Danny hadn't joined in but he was pleased to see the girls having fun together, getting along. He was particularly happy to see Lacey laughing because, despite her protests otherwise, he knew she was not actually fine. "Ok, you girls are getting punchy so it's obvious we're not solving anything else tonight. Its 2 AM, let's go to bed and start fresh in the morning." Jo had figured out that the sofa pulled out to a bed and the recliner reclined all the way to almost horizontal, so they had decided to save motel money by simply sleeping in the apartment. Lacey had brought up blankets she had had stashed in her car for beach trips and picnics, so they set up makeshift sleeping spaces with Jo and Lacey on the sofa while Danny lounged on the recliner.

It took Danny a while to fall asleep. He could hear Jo snoring lightly from her side of the sofa bed. She had done that even when they were little kids - cute tiny snoring noises. He looked over at the other girl whose outline was somewhat illuminated by slivers of moonlight shining in through gaps in the shutters. Lacey. Danny couldn't stop himself from staring at her, drinking in her exquisiteness. He felt a tightening in his throat and chest as he gazed upon her slumbering form… his very own Sleeping Beauty. He had to actively fight a pull towards getting up to go and softly press his lips to hers. Lacey. She was no longer his to kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Lacey was the first one to wake in the morning. It was already 10AM and she had wanted to get an earlier start. But neither Jo nor Danny were even stirring. She sighed and slipped out of the bed she was sharing with Jo. As she walked towards the bathroom, she looked back at her two friends. The evening had ended on a pleasant note, with the three of them working and laughing together in an easy camaraderie similar to their younger days. She felt a little bit closer to Jo now, and had hope that the two of them would be able to repair their friendship. Her eyes grazed across Danny's sleeping form and she smiled to herself. Even while awkwardly draped along a recliner, one arm akimbo, the other over his head, he still emanated his trademark confidence and charisma. His hair was tousled and tendrils fell sexily around his handsome face… and his body was… Lacey stopped herself from following that train of thought. Danny was her friend, nothing more.

She made her way to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. For the first time she realized she still had around her neck the gold and crystal horseshoe necklace that Archie had given her on their first anniversary together. She had been having a really difficult time with her parents back then and Archie had been great. He used to make her laugh by doing goofy silly things just for her. Once, after her mom and dad had tried to get her to choose sides following a bad fight, he took her to the mall and told random strangers that he and Lacey were time travelers who had been sent back to 2013 for a history homework assignment. Some of the reactions they received were priceless and she had been successfully cheered up. He had gotten the idea from a movie… he got most of those creative ideas from movies she supposed. But still, he was so supportive and pretty much always ready to do anything for or with her.

Once, they saw a film where a honeymoon couple were staying in a cottage by the sea. It was a lovely stone house covered with moss and ivy and pink climbing roses. A copper horseshoe hung over the doorway and the husband in the movie pointed out that it was there to deflect negative energy so they would be safe inside. Over Thai noodles that night, Lacey mentioned being drawn to the romantic nature of the cottage with the horseshoe, that she'd like to live in a place like that someday, at the edge of the sea, safe, away from civilization. It was one of the rare times Lacey had let down her guard with Archie, revealing something about her inner desires instead of maintaining her perfect Queen Lacey Porter charade. And a couple of months later, when Lacey unwrapped the small jeweler's box from Archie, she was overwhelmed and touched to find the horseshoe necklace inside. "May it always keep you safe" Archie had said as he hooked it around her neck, then kissed the top of her head. Since then she had pretty much worn it daily.

He had been a wonderful boyfriend. No complaints really. It was she who always felt she was only playing a role - that of girlfriend to the popular jock. She enjoyed the automatic acceptance by the rest of his friends. She didn't even have to try which was a relief after years spent working ceaselessly to fit in. Her name started coming up in those silly "most popular girl/couple" polls that always made the rounds freshman year and by the time they were sophomores, she and Archie had been casually established as class royalty. She had been safe with Archie. And if he hadn't told her himself about framing Danny, poisoning Cole… she would never have believed it of him. He had been really good to her. Lacey took off the necklace and let it dangle from her fingertips for a moment before dropping it in the wastebasket next to the sink. She would never wear it again.

After Lacey finished showering, she walked out to find Jo sitting up on the sofabed, wide awake. "Good morning Jojo" she whispered, unthinkingly reverting to Jo's childhood nickname that only she and Danny called her. Jo 's face brightened as she smiled back. "No one has called me that in like forever" she said, adding "It brings back good memories." It was endearing to hear Lacey call her that. It was, after their bonding moments the night before, another brick to add to the friendship they were building again. Jo had begun feeling closer to Lacey again, their shared laughter and reminiscences superseding her angry feelings, which had begun to dissipate as she realized it wasn't fair to keep harboring such animosity towards her friends, especially considering the rough times they were both going through. She got up, stretching her arms, as she went to take her turn washing up, while Lacey pulled out her laptop.

The sound of Jo shutting the bathroom door woke Danny, who opened his eyes to find Lacey sitting on the sofa bed with her legs under her, her face partially hidden by her chestnut bronze tresses which cascaded over one shoulder as she leaned over her laptop. She had on an aubergine v-neck sweater dress which looked warm and cozy but also rather sexy as it hugged her curves. He let his gaze linger on her a few more moments before delivering a cheerful and loud "Good morning Lacey."

Lacey jumped, startled out of the research-zone she had been in. "Danny. You're up!" she exclaimed.

"Did I startle you?" Danny asked all innocence. He enjoyed flustering Lacey. The girl was usually confident and self assured, so he enjoyed catching her off guard.

"I… no, you didn't" Lacey responded, clearly not being truthful. She gave him a fleeting look before focusing on her computer screen again. "I found Marna Inc. by the way. It's a local realty. And guess what their logo looks like?"

"What?" Danny asked, getting up to see what Lacey was looking at.

"You won't believe it" Lacey said pointing to the screen.

Danny leaned over her shoulder and blew out a whistle of surprise. The logo - the shape and coloring - looked exactly like Tara's necklace. "Wow" he said, staring at it. "There must be a connection between all these things. The necklace, this real estate company, Regina, the apartment…"

"Its like we have all these puzzle pieces that don't quite fit" Lacey said, looking over at Danny. He was too close to her, his loose hair brushing her arm, his arm against her thigh. Lacey drew in a ragged breath. "Marna Inc is just ten minutes from here. We should go there." She punched in the address on Google and brought up a map, hyper aware that Danny was watching her every move. "We might be able to find someone who knows something." She looked back at Danny and caught him looking right at her instead of at the screen. Her heart fluttered and she felt a stirring of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. How was he able to effect her this way still? She swallowed and made her voice as even as possible "What do you think?" She made an effort to look directly back at him.

"That's a great idea Lace" Danny said, running his fingers through his hair. He leaned closer to Lacey, his gaze flickered over her lips. He could see her chest heave as she took in quick breaths. He was close enough to breathe in the clean, freshly showered scent of her hair, her skin. He brought his hand up to sweep her hair out of her eyes. Her lips were so close to his, he couldn't help but be drawn towards them. It was pure instinct.

Lacey's mind was not working clearly with Danny being so near her, crowding into her personal space. She had to get away; she had promised Jo. And what was Danny doing - was he playing both of them? She pushed the laptop between them, a physical barrier. "Here, take this" she said huskily, shoving it into his hands, effectively stopping his forward momentum. She leaped off the bed, smoothing down her dress. "I'll get breakfast ready."


	10. Chapter 10

An hour later, the trio was at the front door of Marna Inc, which turned out to be housed in an old Victorian building. They walked up the wooden steps which were marred by peeling layers of light grey paint. The door creaked opened to the tune of a predictable bell jangling coupled with a squeaky hinge. A broad shouldered woman with a tightly pinned blonde bun looked up from her desk in the front office. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked in a raspy voice. She eyed the trio through her narrow spectacles.

"Hi" Lacey said, beaming at her. "We're moving here to start college this spring and would like to buy a house together." She continuing grinning like an idiot, trying to project the air of a confident college student, hoping their cover story was plausible.

"I see" the woman said after a lengthy pause. "Why don't you have a seat?" She pointed to the two chairs in front of her desk. Jo and Lacey sat down while Danny stood behind them. "What is your budget?"

"We're aiming for something around $250,000." Danny said, remembering a sign he had seen in the entranceway for "$25K listings."

The woman opened a slim binder and put it in front of them. "These are all of our homes in that price range."

Lacey and Jo poured over the contents, exclaiming over floor plans and "character" and whatever else they thought was appealing while Danny queried "Is there a bathroom here I can use?" The woman pursed her lips and expelled an annoyed breath. "Just go through that door, and it's the first room on your right" she noted, waving a multi-bangle-adorned arm towards the back. She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, and pointedly added "Please do not wander anywhere else in the building."

Danny nodded acquiescence in his most earnest manner and wasted no time striding through the doorway. Once on the other side, he ignored the bathroom, and kept going. He tried opening some of the doors but they were locked. At the end of the hallway, he quickly glanced back to see if the realtor was anywhere in sight, before dashing up the staircase. The second floor had a different appearance than the first. The doors looked old and heavy with elegant scrolling embellishing the dark stained wood. Each was marked with an engraved gold sign such as "Initiation", "Ceremony" and "Purification." What sort of real estate agency was this? Finding these doors locked as well, and not wanting to push his luck, Danny raced back down the stairs.

In the front room, the realtor had stood up, ready to march towards the back door. "Your friend is taking a long time" she remarked huffily.

Jo and Lacey exchanged concerned glances, worried that she would find that Danny was snooping. "How soon can we look at this house?" Jo exclaimed, standing quickly to block the realtor, holding the binder open and up to her face. "Its perfect for us!"

The woman frowned at the page Jo was showing her. "This is a corporate condominium studio about 30 miles away from the college. I don't see how it could be perfect for 3 college students at all."

"Oh, that's… um… I must have lost… the wrong page" Jo stammered. She looked up at the woman and inspiration struck. "Is Marilyn here?"

The realtor stepped back as if struck. "What did you say?" she enunciated each word.

"Um… we had been told to ask for Marilyn to help us…" Jo said, unsure if it had been a good idea or not to spring their last card.

The woman gave Jo an inscrutable look, squared her shoulders, marched to the back door and flung it open. "Young man, come out right now" she called. She looked over her shoulder to Jo and Lacey "Who sent you here?" she asked coldly.

"Hey, I'm done" Danny's voice rang out as he emerged from the bathroom, his hands wet as if he had just washed them. He brushed past the realtor before she could react and announced "Girls, we're late for my appointment with the bursar. We can return later."

"Yes, so sorry, we have to go" Lacey remarked, quickly standing up. "We'll… see you later" she called to the realtor as the three of them rushed out. The realtor hadn't moved from her spot but she glared back at them, suspicion written all over her face.

Minutes later, Jo, who was driving to give Lacey a break, pulled into a coffee shop parking lot so the trio could discuss Danny's newfound information over milkshakes. Danny ordered chocolate, Lacey got caramel mocha and Jo decided on vanilla.

"Did you see how she reacted to the name Marilyn?" began Jo.

"She suddenly became much less friendly" responded Kylie, twirling her straw through the thick creamy goodness in her glass.

"I didn't think it was possible for her to have gotten any less friendly" quipped Danny.

"She knows this Marilyn for sure and I'm betting… " Jo started to say.

"…that Marilyn's not actually _just_ a realtor" finished Danny.

"And those signs you found, Danny… they have nothing to do with real estate either" said Lacey. "Maybe they rent out the upstairs to some other organization."

"I don't think so" Danny said thoughtfully. "There was no separate entrance for the second floor." He grabbed Lacey's milkshake and took a sip. "I like this one better" he said with a smirk, commandeering it, pushing his own drink over to her in exchange, daring her to say something. Lacey frowned but didn't object. Danny always had a thing for taking her food.

"Well, what could all those names mean?" asked Jo after a big gulp of her own vanilla drink. "Initiation? Purification?"

"Purification" Danny and Lacey reacted at the same time. "That's one of the possible words on that note" Lacey continued excitedly. "I have an idea" she added. "Lets Google all of these words and see what comes up."

While Lacey pulled out her laptop, Jo called her parents to check in and Danny scanned Green Grove news reports on his phone seeking any mention of himself. Lacey put various combinations of words into the search engine and after a few tries noticed a decided pattern. "Look at this" she turned the computer around so Jo and Danny could see the screen. Look at the type of sites that get pulled up from 'purity, initiation, ceremony, don't stray from the path, and prophecy'."

It took Danny seconds to exclaim "Cults. These are all cults."

"Whoa" Jo cried out. "Is Marna Inc a cult?"

"Well, Marna Inc doesn't come up in any searches, except as a real estate company" said Lacey.

"But" said Danny thoughtfully "that doesn't mean its not a cult. The real estate agency could just be a front."

"This really makes sense" Jo was nodding her head with excitement. 'And, I think I might know who Marilyn is!" Danny and Lacey looked up at her expectantly. "When I was talking to my dad just now he mentioned that this new detective, Marilyn Rossi, has come on board to spearhead the investigation into Regina's murder now. It can't be a coincidence that this new person that just came to Green Grove, and is trying to put Danny behind bars, is named Marilyn".

"Oh wow, Jo" said Danny. "I just read a new brief stating a Ms. Rossi, Mayor Rollins' cousin, had been called in to speed up investigations and follow through on the arrest warrant".

"So… Marilyn Rossi is the mayor's cousin?" Lacey was incredulous. "Like that's not suspicious" she added sarcastically, shaking her head at the new information.

"I think we need to tell my dad everything we've discovered" Jo said animatedly. "On the phone he sounded like he thinks something fishy is going on. I think he's really hoping for some clues or suspects that don't lead to Danny."

Danny glanced at Lacey, to see if she agreed before nodding affirmatively. "Yeah, I think we have enough to raise doubts about me being guilty. Lets get back to Green Grove and tell the Chief everything we know."


	11. Chapter 11

They piled into the car and headed home, a mixture of relief, hope and anxiety permeating their conversation. Lacey had been ready to go along with the plan, but by the time they reached the highway, she was feeling uneasy. "Wait. Jo, can you pull over please?" she asked from the passenger seat.

"Why?" asked Jo, glancing over at her.

"Can we call your dad right now and tell him over the phone?" Lacey looked quickly at Danny in the backseat, who gazed back at her with one eyebrow raised. "Lets not mention Danny's with us just yet. If we go back, and it turns out to not be enough to be considered another lead, Danny will be trapped. I don't want… we don't… we can't risk… Danny getting sent to prison." The thought of Danny being ensnared was terrifying to Lacey, now that she firmly believed in his innocence. She didn't want to take any chances.

Jo shrugged, but drove over to a scenic lookout point where they could park the car, then retrieved her phone from her pocket and speed dialed her dad while Lacey and Danny looked on in silence. On speaker, she first asked her dad not to be mad about what she was about to tell him, then rattled off everything they (she and Lacey) had been doing and discovered on the trip: another copy of the necklace, the Marna logo, the realty being a front for a cult, the name Marilyn R. turning up at the Connecticut apartment and the reaction of the Marna Inc realtor.

Chief Masterson spent a few minutes yelling at Jo before calming down to absorb everything she had just confessed. "Jo, is Danny with you too?"

Jo, who had of late become more practiced at evasion, responded with a question of her own "Dad, do you think this is enough info to help clear Danny?"

"What you've told me is actually really helpful in making sense of some things I can't notify you about right now" said Chief Masterson. "But if Danny's there I need to tell him something important."

Jo raised her eyebrows at Danny, who glanced briefly at Lacey before holding his hand out for the phone. "Hi Chief Masterson."

"Danny, I'd rather tell you this in person, but you need to know immediately. Your father is alive and he's at the police station right now".

Danny moved his mouth but no sound emerged. His eyes widened, and his body went slightly slack from shock.

"Danny's dad is alive?" Lacey exclaimed.

"How is that possible?" asked Jo, her forehead furrowed in puzzlement.

"Is he ok?" asked Lacey.

"He is fine, alive and well, but I can't talk right now kids" the Chief replied. "Come back to Green Grove and down to the police station right away. Actually, strike that. Come at 5pm. We can talk in private then."

After they hung up the phone, Jo and Lacey turned to Danny who was still shell-shocked in the back seat. They all tried to talk at once, oscillating between excitement and bewilderment. Until Danny, in a monotone, asked quietly "If he's alive, why did he disappear on me and my mom for the last 6 months?"

"That's a good point" said Jo. "Why didn't he let you know he was alive?"

"Maybe he had a really good reason…" began Lacey.

"Like what?" Danny asked morosely. He was clutching the phone in a death grip, trying to stay calm.

"Like maybe when he fell off the boat, he hit his head and lost his memory, so he's had amnesia all this time." Lacey postulated.

Jo snorted "That only happens in movies."

Lacey shot her an irritated look. Didn't she see that Danny needed to have some hope that his dad didn't simply abandon him.

Jo caught her glance and pouted at first, but then added "But its not like people never get amnesis, so that could explain it."

Danny gave his friends a weak smile from the backseat. "Maybe. I'm just not sure how to feel yet."

Lacey wanted desperately to reach out to Danny and hold his hand or give him a hug but she was ultra wary of any gesture of hers being misinterpreted. By anyone.

Instead, Jo reached back and took hold of Danny's hand. "It'll be ok" she said. Danny gave her hand a squeeze, then glanced over at Lacey, only to note her eyes tearing up at his distress.

"I'm sorry Danny" Lacey she said in a small voice. She noted how comfortable Jo and Danny looked holding hands, and took a deep breath. "But I'm sure there's a really good explanation. I don't believe for a second that Vikram would have left you on purpose." She had managed to keep her voice from cracking but she had to turn and face forward then. Her heart was breaking for Danny being in pain, and also for herself having to constantly fight her feelings for Danny. She couldn't face Jo and Danny together.

"We should get going" said Danny. "I'll drive" he added, only to have Jo snort with laughter.

"I think not Desai" she remarked, turning back to the wheel.

The stopped for lunch at a small Indian restaurant about 30 minutes outside of Green Grove. As they tucked into their food, Danny sighed "This chicken curry is just like how my dad used to make it."

Lacey and Jo exchanged quick looks - they hadn't considered that eating Indian food might be a trigger for Danny. "Do you want to order something else?" asked Jo.

"Or we could eat some_where_ else" offered Lacey.

"No… thanks" Danny put his fork down. "I'm even not hungry. Why don't you two finish your meal, while I go take a walk. I'll meet you back at the car in 20 minutes." He got up and strode towards the door without looking back.

"Poor Danny" said Jo, pulling off a piece of her garlic naan to soak up some of the curry with.

Lacey nodded, nibbling on a piece of paneer tikka. "I can't believe how much he's going through."

The girls wasted no time in polishing off the delicious food, their conversation drifting back to childhood memories as that's one of the few things the two knowingly had in common.

While waiting for the check, there was a lull in the conversation as they both scrolled through their phones. "Hey Lacey" Jo spoke up softly, breaking the silence. "I need to tell you something". Lacey looked up, noting the serious tone in her friend's voice. She suddenly felt a stab of apprehension - no one ever said the words "I have to tell you something" about anything good. Still, she kept her expression open, ready to listen.

"I…" Jo began. "Uh, this is hard." She looked at Lacey who smiled back, trying to be encouraging. "Someone… a boy we both know…" she twisted a curl around her finger, spiraling it all the way up to her scalp, one of Jo's tells that she was nervous. "He… he kissed me and told me he likes me… loves me actually… " She took a deep breath, and expelled it.

"Wow" said Lacey. "This is someone I know…?" Her brow wrinkled as she tried to figure out who Jo was referring to.

"Yes, you know him" Jo said, blushing. "I was totally not expecting it." That left Tyler out, thought Lacey; everyone knew Tyler had been pursuing Jo and they already had gone out on a date. "He's my… one of my… best friends… and I… I'm kind of not sure what I'm feeling."

Lacey's mind reeled as a familiar phrase echoing Jo's words "best friend" floated to the surface of her memories: "Jo's my best friend." Danny. Lacey tried to focus on Jo's words as she relayed her thoughts. But nothing she was saying made any sense as Lacey's heart was hammering so loudly it was drowning everything else out. "What do you think Lacey?" Jo asked.

Lacey shook her head to clear it. "Um… what do I think?" She had been unable to follow Jo's stream of consciousness ramblings and had only caught phrases like "care about him so much", "makes me happy" and "friendship is a good foundation for a relationship, right?"

"Yeah, I need your advice on this" Jo said, biting her fingernail. "Do you think I should just go for it?"

Was Jo trying to ask Lacey's permission to date Danny? Lacey felt like the contents of her stomach were in danger of coming back up. Blood was rushing to her face, heating her skin, thundering through her ears. Danny told Jo he likes her? That he loves her? And then kissed her? So Lacey was not wrong - despite furiously hoping otherwise. The secret conversations, exchanged glances, overheard snippets… they all added up to Danny and Jo both wanting to be together.

Maybe this was her penance for shutting Jo out of Amber's party 3 years ago and then for secretly dating Danny more recently. Maybe this was how she would make it up to Jo. Maybe this was how she could assuage any residual guilt. "Jo, you should definitely go for it." she found herself saying." She kept a huge artificial smile plastered on her face, willing her voice to remain upbeat as she added "A truly great guy only comes along once in a lifetime, so if you're lucky enough to find him, don't let him go."


	12. Chapter 12

The rest of car ride was in near silence as all three grappled with their own thoughts. When they entered Green Grove, Jo spoke up "We still have a couple of hours until we have to go meet my dad. What do you want to do?"

"Why don't we go see a movie?" Danny posited. "Isn't that horror flick 'Fear the Night' playing?"

Both Jo and Lacey immediately vetoed that in favor of the latest Pixar hit 'Flicken Chicken'.

At the theater, Danny led the way towards what he considered perfect seats, 2/3rds of the way from the front, equidistant from each side. He looked back at the girls, and made a sweeping gesture with his arm, to allow Lacey and then Jo to walk past him and get settled into their seats before moving into the row after them. Lacey observed that this allowed him to sit next to Jo, but not her. She felt her rib cage constrict around her heart as she tried to breathe through the anguish that kept threatening to bubble up through her mental walls. She berated herself for still being enamored with the boy when he had clearly moved on. Danny tossed his jacket onto the seat behind him in the half empty theater and leaned back in his seat, resting his legs up on the seat-back in front of them.

Jo babbled on about the new digital technology being utilized in the film. "Its similar to anime" she remarked. Then the lights dimmed and the noise level in the theater died down as people ceased their conversations.

"I'll be right back…" Danny said as the previews started "…getting popcorn." He marched down the aisle at a rapid pace, avoiding the snack stand in favor of the exit, and headed straight to Lacey's car. He had swiped the keys from Jo when she was buying her favorite movie snack, Goobers. Picking pockets was yet another useful skill picked up in juvie. He idly wondered if the authorities would ever figure out that kids actually learned how to be _more_ effective criminals in places like that. He put on a pair of thin black gloves that were in his pocket, got in the car, and drove the short distance to Scott Hudgen's house. Danny was aware that soccer practice had just ended. He checked to make sure no one was at home, then waited crouched behind the fence where he wouldn't be seen.

A couple of minutes later, Scott's car pulled into the driveway. Danny congratulated himself on the perfect timing, but then was surprised to spot another occupant in the passenger seat. This could ruin things. But the person, Erik from the team, thanked Scott for the ride, and trotted off towards his own house down the street. Danny expelled the breath he had been holding and waited until Erik was well out of earshot before stealthily walking up behind Scott, who was trying to heave all his soccer gear out of the car's trunk.

"Boo" he said in a loud stage whisper. Danny had the pleasure of hearing Scott yelp as he jumped from being startled. "Hi Scott" he said with a mocking smile.

Before Scott could say a word, Danny had bent his arm far behind his back and was frog marching him towards the back yard. Once out of sight of any neighbors, Danny asked casually "How're you doing Scott?"

Again, Danny didn't give him a chance to answer; he simply swung a fist straight at his solar plexus. Scott groaned and staggered backwards. "What the fuck" Scott grunted, bent over, holding his belly. "What the hell is this about?"

Danny swung again, this time scoring a direct hit to the jaw, causing Scott to tumble over to the ground before replying "Its about a little interaction you had with Lacey on Friday." Danny observed Scott's eyes opening wider with realization.

"I didn't do anything to Lacey I swear" Scott pleaded, doubled over from pain.

Danny kicked him in the ribs, eliciting a scream from Scott. "That one's for lying" remarked Danny genially. He grabbed Scott 's shirt and half lifted him off the ground, only to deliver several punches in a row to his face. He stopped when he heard a cracking sound - he had broken Scott's nose. His lip was torn and bloody and it looked like there might be a loose tooth in his mouth. Danny let go of Scott's shirt, allowing his body to fall back to the ground with a thud. Scott lay in a daze, his eyes pleading with Danny to stop.

Danny stood up and brushed his hands across each other in a gesture of wiping them clean. "Now, before I go, I need you to say 'I will never ever touch Lacey Porter again because she is an angel and I should worship the ground she walks on.'' Scott tied to get the words out but his mouth wasn't working correctly. "Say it Scott" Danny was having no mercy, his rage at Scott for hurting Lacey still not abated. Scott tried to say the words again and again, tears falling down his face to mingle with the blood dribbling from his nose and mouth, until Danny was satisfied. "Now say 'I am nothing but the fecal matter in my own anus who will never sexually assault another girl'." Scott was openly weeping at this point, blubbering out words that only half made sense. Once he got the gist of it right, Danny stood up.

"You won' geg 'way wib dis" Scott lisped out, half crying still.

Danny bent down close to Scott's ear and whispered "Of course I will Scott. Because if you ever tell anyone it was me who beat you up, next time I will send my juvie buddies after you and this, what I did today, will look like child's play compared to the torture they'll put you through. And you will never be able to tell on them. Would you like to guess why?"

Scott let out a whimpered "no".

"Because" said Danny with a wide smile "_their_ victims don't actually make it out alive. Got it?" Danny waited until Scott, now looking even more alarmed, if that was even possible, nodded his head before getting back up. "Besides, I was never here. I've been watching a movie with my two best friends this entire time." Danny whistled happily as he walked purposefully back to the car without a second glance at a damaged Scott curled up on the lawn, his body bloody and bruised, with a possible broken rib. Scott, terrified of Danny's threat, there and then made a decision to tell people he had gotten mugged by a gang unknown of assailants wearing masks.

Danny arrived back at the movie theater only 17 minutes after he had left the girls. Hurriedly purchasing a bag of popcorn, he dumped half in the garbage, then entered the theater, and took a seat in the row behind Jo and Lacey. He tapped Jo on the shoulder and offered her the bag of popcorn. Jo looked back at him "Why aren't you sitting with us?" she whispered.

"I didn't want to interrupt your viewing pleasure" Danny said with a smirk.

"You already ate half of it" Jo complained, peering into the bag. She grabbed a handful, then passed it over to Lacey. Danny settled back into his seat, content that Jo believed he had been sitting behind her, quietly munching popcorn all this time. He made a mental note to watch the part of the film he missed online just in case he ever needed details for his alibi. But he was pretty sure Scott would never say a word.


	13. Chapter 13

After the movie was over, the trio headed to the police station. Danny, now in the passenger seat, while Lacey took the wheel back from Jo, was anxiously tapping his fingers against his leg. Lacey started to instinctively reach for his hand, but stopped herself, instead stealing worried glances at him. She pulled into a parking spot, and they all piled out of the car, their bodies and facial expressions exhibiting unmasked tension. "Well, its 5:15" said Jo. "Its now or never." She pulled on Danny's arm as they walked through the doors.

Chief Masterson ushered them into his office. A man sitting on a chair next to his desk, looked up at them and then stood. It took a few moments for everyone to figure out it was Vikram. His hair was dyed light brown and he sported a cheesy mustache. The trio was dumbstruck as they gaped at Danny's supposedly dead father. Vikram smiled at Danny and walked closer to his son. Danny took a stumbled step backwards. 'Dad?" he whispered.

"Yes, Danny, its me" Vikram said, pulling the boy into his arms. Danny let him, but put no energy into hugging back. He just stood limply in Vikram's grasp, allowing his father to hold him, but he was still too overwhelmed with emotion to do anything more. Then he pulled back, unwrapping his father's arms from around his body, stepping away, arms folded across his chest, his face hard.

Vikram nodded his head, understanding Danny's reaction. "Danny, I know you're surprised to see me and want an explanation. I'm very sorry I had to set up a faux drowning and was not able to tell you that I wasn't really dead. I cannot imagine the agony you and your Karen went through because of that."

"No" said Danny, his teeth gritted. "I don't think you have any idea what mother and I went through." Without conscious thought, Lacey moved closer to Danny and clasped his hand. Danny glanced quickly at her, then squeezed her hand tight.

Vikram nodded, his face reflecting concern. He seemed at a loss to go on in the face of Danny's anguish.

"Danny, Vikram has been in the witness protection program for the last 6 months" Chief Masterson said, interjecting himself into the conversation. "He was forced to fake his death and was not allowed to tell you and Karen under strict orders from the FBI."

The trio gasped, taking in this new information. "Dad…" began Danny in a strangled voice. "Why? What did you… what happened?" He took a step towards Vikram, closing the distance he had initially imposed between them. He was still holding so tightly to Lacey's hand, her fingers were in danger of going numb. She rubbed his arm, letting him know she was there for him, trying to impart some calmness and support.

"Look, guys, we can't tell you everything, but here's the basic scoop" Masterson continued. "Marna Inc is a cover for a cult, as you three discovered. Danny, when they were younger, your aunt Tara, your dad, and Tess all belonged to this organization." he cleared his throat as he held both Danny and his daughter in his gaze. Jo had a stunned expression on her face. "They didn't realize it was a cult right away. They thought it was an organization focused on personal growth and development and got sucked in. Five years ago, Vikram and Tess decided they wanted to get out and left Marna officially. But unfortunately, there were fringe elements in the group, who considered that action a defection. Tara was one of them." he stopped there to see how everyone was reacting.

"Dad" said Jo finally finding her voice "this is insane. Mom was in a cult? And so were Vikram and Tara?"

Chief Masterson nodded, but his eyes were on Danny, not his daughter. Danny's face reflected a range of emotions as an epiphany dawned on him. "So, that's why Tara was going to kill all of us." he stated. "That day… I heard her, on the phone. She said she was going blow up our home and the Masterson home. She had explosives with her. When I confronted her, she said she had no choice, that there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. She said that if I tried to stop her, if I ever told anyone that she was planning to murder our families, the people who were making her do it would come after all of us and finish the job." He gripped Lacey's hand more tightly, digging his nails into her palm. "So, I had no choice, I had to kill her." He collapsed onto the floor, pulling Lacey down with him. Lacey kneeled down next to Danny, her arms around his shoulders. Jo quickly crouched down next to them in solidarity, as Danny put his head in his hands to process finally knowing the reason his aunt had been planning to murder their families.

Chief Masterson nodded. "Danny, if you hadn't killed your aunt that day, she would have in all likelihood gone through with her plan. You probably saved all of our lives."

"But why didn't the other cult members come back and finish the job like she said?" asked Jo.

"Because the case surrounding a child murderer brought a ton of media attention to the Desai family and Green Grove. They didn't dare try anything else at that time. Besides, soon after Vikram was working with the FBI already, and had returned to the cult again as a reformed member. He had worked his way back into their good graces and regained their trust. He used Danny's prison sentence as a catalyst, said it made him realize how important Marna was to his life. But the entire time he was gathering evidence to prove that they were harming people, extorting money, and even murdering former members. Once he had everything the Bureau needed to make their case, the FBI surprised him on that boat ride 6 months ago, forced him to go with them, and enrolled him in the protection program against his will."

"I wasn't allowed to make contact with you at all" Vikram said to Danny. He had sunk down next to his son on the floor. "I had to appear to be dead so that Marna would not find out I had been working as a double agent to get the dirt on the handful of leaders who were truly criminals, and out them. Unfortunately they came very close to discovering I was a whistleblower, so appearing to have died was the only way."

Mr. Masterson jumped in again "It turns out that both Mayor Rollins and his sister Marilyn are the central senior leaders within Marna Inc. The FBI believes they actually lifted Danny's fingerprints and applied them to the weapon that killed Regina, then planted it in the lake". He hit his desk with his fist and added "I knew it wasn't there the first three times we combed that lake."

"Why did they kill Regina?" Lacey asked, completely baffled. She had been stroking Danny's back gently, trying to soothe him.

"Regina had joined the cult, Lacey" Masterson responded. "She was specifically recruited to keep an eye on Vikram once they became suspicious of him. They had been sending her money as an added incentive. When they saw her getting close to Danny, they determined she was a risk and killed her, then tried to pin it on Danny as the most likely suspect. They wanted to frame him to get him behind bars again as they were worried he knew too much. They were never sure just how much Tara had revealed to him before she died."

Lacey shook her head to clear it. Regina had been in this cult? How could she not have had an inkling about her best friend being part of something like that? But what really held her attention was that everything they were being told completely cleared Danny. He was innocent of Regina's murder, and he had only killed Tara in what amounted to self defense. If anything, Danny had acted heroically. In spite of all the horrible bits of information, she was feeling slightly elated.

"So, how was the necklace part of it?" questioned Jo.

"Every female in the cult was given one and men were given a badge that had a similar design" her father responded. "It was a way to identify members. That's why Tara had one and so did Regina." He paused for a moment, then added "Your mom had one too Jo."

Jo gasped and shook her head angrily. "Everyone lies." she screeched. "Even my own _parents_!" She irritably folded her arms across her chest.

Masterson went on "The mayor and Marilyn are both in FBI custody and they're being used to flush out the other leaders who also went too far. That's all I can tell you for now, so I suggest you all go home and get some rest. All of you will have police protection until we hunt down the rest of the criminal members of Marna."


	14. Chapter 14

The next day, Lacey woke to discover she had slept the entire morning away as it was actually already almost 2pm. She had apparently needed the sleep desperately. She yawned, stretching her arms over her head, as a mix of emotions competed with each other in her head. She was thrilled about all the clues finally adding up and about proving Danny's innocence. He would be allowed back in school and on the soccer team and cease to be the town pariah. And she had a shot at being able to live down that video. Yes, people had seen her in her bra, but really it was no more scandalous than being in her bathing suit bikini top, now that the stigma attached to who she was making out with would no longer be applicable. Her friends would have no reason to freeze her out any longer. But her giddiness about all of this was colored by her unhappy knowledge regarding Danny and Jo wanting to be together. It made her heart feel like it would never be whole again and her body feel viscerally ill.

Checking her phone, she saw that Phoebe had messaged her, gleeful about the turn of events Lacey had related to her the night before. Lacey had felt she owed Phoebe the 411 asap since she had been responsible for one of their main clues and had remained loyal to Lacey. It surprised her to see several texts from other friends in their circle, all rather pleasant and asking if she was ok. Apparently Phoebe had spread the word. Even Sarita had written "Still mad you went behind my back but at least you weren't dating a killer, just an asshole." Lacey had to smile - it would take quite a bit more time before Sarita and Danny warmed up to each other.

Lacey got dressed in a charcoal grey sweater and jeans tucked into black boots, then took the stairs down two at a time. She was surprised to see her mom and Clara sitting at the kitchen table. Usually her mom would put in a few hours at the office on Sunday afternoons and Clara should be at gymnastics practice. Instead, Judy was working on her laptop and Clara was doing what looked like math homework. Clara jumped up to hug Lacey as soon as she entered the room. "I'm so glad you're ok Lace" she mumbled, squeezing her sister's around her waist. Lacey hugged her back, surprised but also curious. She hadn't had a chance to talk to either of them last night other than a hurried goodnight to Judy as she practically crawled upstairs to bed given how exhausted she was.

Judy rose as well, and put her arms around both of her daughters. "Honey, Chief Masterson called me this morning and filled me in on everything. That you were dating Danny Desai, the video, where you and Jo were this weekend and what you did, and how Danny has been proven innocent. So Clara and I decided we wanted to make sure we were here when you woke up" she explained. "I am truly sorry I didn't know so much of what was going on in my daughter's life" Judy's voice was strained as she tried not to cry in front of her daughter. The last thing Lacey needed was to have to try and comfort her own mother when she had been through so much already.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you mom" began Lacey, but Judy just pulled her into a tighter bear hug, as Clara slipped out of the way to head back to her math problems.

"You do not have to apologize to me Lacey. You have had to grow up much too fast and I haven't been able to be part of your life as much as I want to."

"Mom" Lacey protested "I know things have been tough for you with the divorce and being a single mom. I always understood."

"No "said Judy holding Lacey at arm's length, looking her in the eye "you always let me off the hook to make it easier for me. But I'm not going to let you do that anymore. You and Clara are the two single most important things to me and I am going to figure out how to rearrange my life so that I can put you both first."

Lacey felt as if a leaden weight she didn't even know she was carrying had dispersed. To have her mom be present in her life in a more meaningful way, to feel less alone as she dealt with all the typical teen stuff in addition to bigger problems (like people in her life getting murdered… although hopefully that sort of thing wouldn't happen anymore), made her feel lighter, more buoyant, even optimistic. She leaned over and kissed her mom on the cheek before stating "That would be really great mom, thank you."

After a hearty meal of Lacey's favorite comfort food, jalapeno mac and cheese, the Porter women dispersed. Judy left to hit the produce market and Lacey dropped Clara off at the library on her way to meet Danny and Jo at the fort. They had made plans to debrief together, make sure everyone was ok, to celebrate. Lacey had already decided she would spend 20 minutes with them, then make up an excuse of having to pick Clara up from the library so she could leave soon after. It was going to take a while before her heart healed enough to be ok being around the two of them together.

As she walked through the trees towards the fort, Lacey balanced a box of cupcakes from the Buttercup Bake Shop in her hands, her contribution to the celebration. She heard Danny and Jo's voices as she neared the building - animated, joyful, punctuated by laughter. She checked her watch and realized she was almost a half hour late. Taking a couple of deep breaths (cleansing breaths as she had learned in yoga), she parted the curtain to enter. "Hi guys" she said. It wasn't hard to keep her tone cheerful as she felt truly happy for Danny.

"Oooh, Buttercup cupcakes?!" Jo exclaimed, grabbing the box and opening it. She immediately called dibs on a red velvet one. Danny was still polishing up a slice of mushroom pizza which Jo had brought. Lacey could see a half full box of the remaining slices next to a bottle of champagne. It was the real thing and Lacey suppressed a grin as she realized Danny probably hadn't wanted to bring merely sparkling cider after she had mocked him during their park date.

The trio sat around the fire pit, munching on their snacks, sipping the bubbly alcohol from paper cups, reminiscing over details of the weekend, reveling in Danny's innocence and all the "told you so's" they were now free to deliver to assorted friends, relatives, and enemies. They talked about how strange yet wonderful it was for Danny to have Vikram home and how his mom was adjusting. Lacey briefly mentioned how her mom was trying to be more supportive and Jo related how her parents had grounded her for lying about where she was over the weekend. "They're worried I'm too good at lying these days" she noted wryly. For a while the warmth and reassurance of being together blanketed them in a cocoon of comfort and goodwill.

Soon though Lacey felt ready to leave and readied herself to get up, but before she could offer her excuse, Jo stood up and said "Sorry guys but I have to go.." She shrugged on her jacket. "I have a… um… an appointment. With Rico" she added, winking at both of them. Lacey thought the wink was odd, but Jo could be quirky for no reason at times.

"Have fun Jo" said Danny affectionately, giving her a quick hug. Lacey let her gaze fall anywhere but on the two of them. She reached for her own jacket, and started putting it on as Jo walked out.

"Lace, you're not leaving too are you?" asked Danny. "I wanted to talk to you."

Lacey knew exactly what Danny wanted to talk to her about and knew she had to beat him to the punch.

"Actually, Danny, I have something to say to you first" she announced, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for not believing you all along" she began. "It was so hard sometimes to know what was real…. and you didn't always make it easy… but I know I let you down."

"Lacey, don't" Danny interrupted. "I should never have lied to you. You didn't -" he stopped when Lacey held up her hand.

"Please hear me out Danny" she said. "I know I wasn't always there for you like Jo was. I'm sorry I gave up on us too soon" her voice cracked as she spoke but she kept going. "But I'm really glad we're both over each other and we're friends again. So we can both move on."

Danny was staring at her with a baffled look on his face. He narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin. Before he could say anything Lacey spoke up again "I also wanted you to know that I don't mind if you and Jo go out. I know how you both feel about each other and its ok." Lacey couldn't help choke back a sob as she got that last bit out.

Danny nodded his head calmly as Lacey hurriedly picked up her bag and turned towards the doorway. She made it as far as the first set of trees before she heard footsteps running after her. Danny had caught up to her and grabbed her arm a bit roughly. "Don't run away from me again Lacey" he said firmly.

Lacey took a couple of steps away; he was in her personal space which always made her heart beat erratically. But Danny simply followed, until she was backed up against a tree.

"Your turn to hear me out" growled Danny, standing directly in front of her, watching her face intently. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving with rapid breaths, her lips slightly parted. It took everything in him to not just take her in his arms and kiss her right then. "Lace, I thought Jo told you that Rico has a thing for her and she's giving it a chance. She has a date with him this afternoon - that's where she ran off to."

It took a few seconds for Lacey to make the right connections. So Jo had been talking about Rico, not Danny?

Danny watched the flurry of thoughts play over Lacey's face for a moment, then continued. "Jo is my best friend. I'm not interested in her any other way. There is only one girl I like…. love actually." He blinked several times as Lacey took in his words before adding, in a low voice that Lacey had to strain to hear, "and you and I both very well know who that is." He was standing close enough to Lacey that he could hear her quick intake of breath as her eyes widened further. When Lacey didn't respond, he simply let go of her, turned and walked away.

It took a few moments for Lacey to reconcile what Danny told her with what she realized was a series of misunderstandings on her part all weekend, but it abruptly all clicked for Lacey as she watched Danny stride back towards the fort. She called out "Danny stop" her voice breaking a little. Danny halted, then turned to face her, his face inscrutable. Lacey bit her lower lip, not sure what to say. Then instinct took over and she ran the few steps towards him and fell into his arms. "I… I think… I… " she swallowed and began again, her head buried in his shoulder "I love you too Danny Desai" it came out in whisper.

Danny pulled her away from him, holding her at arm's length, his face expressing a mixture of astonishment and guarded happiness. "Say that again" he ordered, one eyebrow raised.

"You know what I said" Lacey lowered her eyes, feeling unexpectedly shy. She had never even told Archie she loved him. She was never certain of Archie's true thoughts the times he said those words to her, those times when Lacey would respond with kisses but not offer the words back. It was huge for her to admit this. She who always kept her emotions too buried to ever rise up and turn against her, had just revealed her deepest feelings to the one person who had the power to hurt her more than anyone else in the world.

Danny sensed he shouldn't push Lacey too far. It was enough she had admitted her feelings at all, more than enough for him to know she loved him too. He experienced a heady mixture of elation and contentment as he brushed his lips against hers softly, then more aggressively, hungrily. He felt faintly as if he was floating as she kissed him back with obvious desire. She pulled back slightly and slowly ran her tongue along his lower lip, then allowed it to slip into his mouth. Danny pressed his body against hers, caressed her cheek, pulled her closer in a tight embrace. As he deepened the kiss, and Lacey reciprocated, he temporarily forgot all the ways in which his life was still screwed up (How will the Desais become a family again? How can he make up weeks of school and still pass all his classes? How many more school board hearings must he endure? What happens if all the Marna members aren't captured?) because at that moment, right there in the middle of the woods, under a grey-blue sky, kissing Lacey Porter, his arms encircling her, her hands entangled in his hair…. the rest of the world didn't exist and he was experiencing what he could only assume was pure, unadulterated bliss. He, Danny Desai, former child murderer, was finally happy.

* * *

_**Author's note**: My deepest appreciation to each and every one of you for reading and following/favoriting this story and for all of your marvelous comments and encouragement. Your words meant the world to me and were the motivation and inspiration for me to write, so in effect Twisted Aftermath is dedicated to all of you dear readers. I would like to put forward an extra shout-out to a couple of reviewers who offered thoughtful, detailed critiques and support for every single chapter without fail - I cannot thank you enough as you have been my angel muses: TwistedArt, PlayForKeeps, DarkLynette._


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